In which I disagree with Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot just wrote something wrong on the internet! It really pains me to take her to task because, as I may have mentioned one or two times, I am a huge Meg Cabot fan. I adore her books, her fashion sense, her blog. She is quite possibly the most fabulous person in YA. Pointing out her wrongness, well, ouch.

But here goes. In her latest post she made the following claims:

I think some people, when they’re asking authors about inspiration, are actually mistaking the word inspiration for motivation, ie, “What motivates authors (motivation = willingness to complete a sometimes onerous task) to sit there and keep their butt in a chair for so long that they’re able to finish a whole book?”

If authors were really being honest, they’d admit there are only three things that motivate them to finish their books. They are, in order of motivational effectiveness:

–Chocolate (any kind, cheap, expensive—doesn’t matter)
–Just wanting to get the damn thing finished so they can get on with their lives
–Panic over inability to pay their mortgages if they don’t get paid

There may be other motivational devices authors use to encourage themselves (music; Cheetos; revenge on their enemies), but the above are the main sources of motivation for most, I think.

Chocolate?! Chocolate?! Ewwww!!! I am a writer and chocolate has never motivated me to do anything except throw up. I’m sure I am not the only writer completely not motivated by chocolate or by Cheetos for that matter. (I’m not exactly sure what Cheetos are but they begin with a “ch” and that makes me suspicious.)

Her second reason is also suspect. Why, I hug each and every book to my chest and never want to let it go. I’m sure if you search this blog you will not find a single sentence where I express anything but sadness at having to part company with one of my beloved books.

As for no. 3 . . . Well, frankly I’m shocked. I have never in all my days come across such a mercenary statement from a writer. Me and my writer friends tap out our creations for the pure love of it and require no more payment then to be allowed to keep doing so. Money? I can’t believe she would even mention something so low.

My inspiration to write comes from the sweet lovely muse who floats in through my window to whisper sweet and pure creative thoughts into my head as golden petals float through the air and nightingales sing and . . .

Forget it. I can not keep that line of palaver going a second longer. Muse schmuse. Cabot’s correct about numbers 2 & 3. Wanting to finish the damned thing has gotten me through more books than I care to count.¹ And knowing that a cheque will come once the manuscript is accepted is very very motivating indeed. Even though the speed of that arrival is rarely greased lightning. But if I don’t finish it don’t arrive.

I am also motivated by

wanting to write the next shiny shiny new new book because I am bored with the current one.
Not wanting Scott be mad at me for abandoning a book I’ve been reading to him. He hates narrativus interruptus.
Not wanting to piss off my agent or publisher.

I know some writers are motivated by a fear that if they ever fail to finish a book they will lose their ability to write another sentence ever again. That fear motivates me to start the next book but is useless in getting me to finish.

Those of you who’ve finished a novel or two: what kept you going all the way to the finish line?

WARNING: I will delete anyone who craps on about their love of chocolate. I am uninterested. I know that many people’s taste buds are seriously warped on that subject. I have zero interest in hearing more about their perversion.

Actually it’s only seven. I don’t even have to stop using my hands to figure it out. I bet it would take AGES for Meg Cabot to figure that out. [↩]

Posted by Justine at 0:00, 4 September 2008 under Bloggery, Ranting, Writing life | 31 Comments »

Comments

David Moles Says:

I might have finished this book by now if every day someone would threaten to feed me Cheetos if I didn’t make my word count.

September 4th, 2008 at 12:32 am
Chanel Says:

Cheetos are a must, Justine. Please try them!
And I am not one to even attempt answering this question. It’s takes hours to find the perfect sentence, for me. I guess I could use some motivation tips, maybe?

September 4th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Leahr Says:

I hate chocolate too! So nice to find someone else who doesn’t think I’m weird for saying that. Let’s start a club!

Cheetos, despite the alliteration, I do not believe have anything else in common with chocolate. Although I don’t believe I’ve ever had one.

I’m surprised you didn’t mention MJ’s brain monkeys theory about muses.

I did Nanowrimo twice. The best thing to inspire me to write- no question. A deadline. Sadly, after November ends I tend to fizzle out or reurn to checking my email instead. It is something I must work on. But I highly reccomend deadlines to anyone who is having trouble.

September 4th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Phil Says:

Actually, writing the first draft was relatively easy. It was all the following revisions that required bloody minded determination.

September 4th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Liset Says:

you don’t know what cheetos are?
WOAH,
just woah…

in kindergarden i use to put cheetos in my giant pink jacket pocket and eat them when my teacher wasn’t looking… wait, i still do that…

September 4th, 2008 at 1:18 am
El Says:

Cheetos are, in fact, excellent if your goal in life is to turn your hands and mouth orange.

I would not be surprised if someone has this goal.

September 4th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Arthur D. Hlavaty Says:

Robert Silverberg doesn’t like chocolate either.

September 4th, 2008 at 5:53 am
David Moles Says:

Do not listen to these people. Cheetos are biodegradable packing peanuts coated in MSG and FD&C yellow #6. They are not a food product.

September 4th, 2008 at 7:26 am
The Scarlet Tree Says:

I think any snacky food stuffs serve only to delay, and fuel nothing but procrastination and crumbs in the keyboard. I know because there are crumbs in my keyboard. I’m not really sure what my primary motivation is, I suppose I would like to one day hold a shiny new book with my name on the cover

September 4th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Bill Says:

The only thing that’s helped me finish a book is making it a daily habit during the middle 80%.

Starting a book is all magic and romance, then doubt and ennui and other “better” ideas start to conspire against me. I have about a dozen seven-chapter novel beginnings mouldering away on various hard drives.

Finishing a book is also easy, because the finish line is close enough to be a real motivator. I know one day soon I will walk out of the den, hands raised high and declare victory.

But in the middle I need to program myself to keep slogging. Sitting down to start the day’s writing is the hardest part by far and if I allow myself to CHOOSE whether or not to write today, I almost always choose no.

The common wisdom is to keep your options open to be happy, but that leaves me vulnerable to the siren songs of the Internet, ice cream and daytime television. I end up wasting my life on lame, superficial crushes instead of dedicating it to the true loves of my life, the things that will leave this world better than I found it: my family and my writing.

I get up at 5:45 AM every day to write, not because I want to (I never want to, taking choice out of the equation) but because that’s how the work gets done.

September 4th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Diana Peterfreund Says:

The things that motivate me to write all, ironically, start with CH:
1. Champagne
2. Cheese (especially if melted and combined with some sort of carb and tomato sauce)
3. Checks

September 4th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Cat Says:

I concur with the deadline as my best motivator and slogging through the middle as the hardest part. Chocolate and cheetos are not rewards…I’d never get to eat any.

September 4th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Kelly McCullough Says:

What about simply loving the whole writing process? Come on, I get to play make believe all day long and people _pay_ me for it. How incredibly cool is that? My biggest motivator to finish a book is that doing it is enormous fun. And, yes the other writers in my group do occasionally threaten to strangle me when I say things like this.

September 4th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Jennifer Says:

I make no judgments on your hatred of chocolate, because I hate coffee and probably get as much crap for that as you do for chocolate.

To actually answer the question: NaNo’s deadline. I won’t follow my own set deadlines, but if someone else does it, I will.

September 4th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Celia Says:

So, Cheetos are right out because they too start with ch, but you’re okay with cheques? I find this suspicious. Are you sure you’re not just saying things for shock value there?

September 4th, 2008 at 11:30 am
AndrewN Says:

you will not find a single sentence where I express anything but sadness at having to part company with one of my beloved books:

“It’s my first non-Magic or Madness novel. I will confess that by book three I was bored out of my gourd with Reason and Tom and Jay-Tee.1 It was a huge pleasure to write something completely different.”

You owe me a bag of Cheetos

September 4th, 2008 at 11:37 am
AndrewN Says:

I know, but you didn’t retract the challenge …

September 4th, 2008 at 11:38 am
AliceB Says:

I stay clear of chocolates, unless I want a gigantic, crushing migraine. What does keep me motivated is that, if I don’t finish, then everyone will know that I’m just a fraud. (Right now, they’re just guessing.)

September 4th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Haddy-la Says:

your are a deprived imigrant (well i dont know, i dont like that word but its all i could thing of) to the US and your american husband obiously deprived you of cheetos i really think you should go get some now YUM but you have to get puffs and… er not puffs because they are differnt my favorite type changes with my mood

September 4th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Jana Stocks Says:

Heh…my last novel was a combination of an agent who was badgering me and a husband who sat across the room and glared at me if I got out of my chair for anything besides potty breaks and food, and the later he’d bring to me. He wanted to know how it ended. Heh.

September 4th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Julia Says:

I completely agree, chocolate isn’t even that great.

September 4th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Laurie Halse Anderson Says:

For me, popcorn takes the place of chocolate. I concur about wanting to get the damn thing over with and needing to pay the bills.

And I have a fourth inspiration.

4. Fear that if I don’t finish the book, I will be forced to get a real job.

I am only qualified to milk cows and shovel manure. It’s nice to have something to fall back on, but I’d rather write books.

September 4th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
claire Says:

actually, i suspect that people who ask about writers’ inspiration are NOT talking about their motivation. such people aren’t aware that writing is a long, hard slog, or that writers are people who require motivation.

i think what they mean to ask is “how did you come up with such great ideas?”

September 4th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Patrick Says:

I think crapping on chocolate is a little eccentric… Here in the US, we just crap on toilets.

I suspect what people mean to ask is “Meg, can I have your money?”

September 4th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
caitlin Says:

I just read Laurie Halse Anderson’s upcoming book Chains, and I don’t think she’ll be milking cows anytime soon.

September 4th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Lynne Jonell Says:

Pain inspires me to complete a novel. Eventually, the pain of not-writing exceeds the pain of writing, aaaaaand we’re off!

And, since the subject of chocolate is verboten (censorship rears its ugly head here, too, I see), I’ll add that strong coffee is one of my major sources of inspiration. As in road sludge. The best is coffee that I forgot about the night before, and it has been merrily reheating all night long. There’s a sort of bitter enthusiasm that comes after a cup or two, that works very well indeed.

September 5th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Serafina Zane Says:

The evil influence of Chex Mix provoked me to decide to try writing a novel in two months, but no chocolate.

September 5th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Chanel Says:

I have gotten some laughs from this, but am yet to be motivated…
Maybe I’ll just wake up early?

September 5th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Kate McCaffrey Says:

Motivation, inspiration, perspiration… what about finishing a novel just to shut up those damn voices in your head? The ones that nag you when you’re cooking, or driving- or heaven forbid, actually trying to ‘work’ at another task. When the latest character, suddenly reveals to you- as you are trying to squish into size 9 jeans at Myer- that the reason she is motivated to do… whatever… is because… and you have nothing to jot that down on but the label of the overpriced jeans that make your thighs look fat anyway?
What about the need to just finish the puzzle- especially when the beginning- and the end, revealed themselves to you so freely- but that bloody middle bit decided to elude you for so long?
What about the satisfaction of not only creating people (I’d already experienced that one as a mother), but being the entire master of their domain- and then being horrified to learn that they are actually writing the story not you (same thing as being a mother- I guess). I love it when that happens! When a character finally confesses everything- so you understand.
After all- characters are people too.

September 6th, 2008 at 5:36 am
sherry Says:

I am glad to hear that popular writers can pay their mortgage with their writing earnings. It’s difficult for the rest of us to imagine. If we were motivated by money, we’d find another occupation I think. Though finding that motivation lowly implies that you have no worries about paying your mortgage.

I don’t really find food motivating. But I do have four kids, so my writing time is my chance to escape. And that must be my motivation.

September 7th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
31. Justine Says:

Sherry: Cabot was speaking for herself. I rent and do not have a mortgage. In fact, that is true of pretty much every writer I know in NYC. Almost none of them own property.

September 7th, 2008 at 5:14 pm

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Justine Larbalestier

In which I disagree with Meg Cabot

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